Findings from an exploratory study on the governance of a French fishery

Abstract

In marine fisheries science, the application of social sciences and the increasing use of a multidisciplinary approach have enriched fisheries research through new paradigms. The stance on fisheries governance aims to complement bio-economic approaches and to break with the “tragedy of the commons” premise by focusing on the institutions and network actors at the heart of knowledge, representations, actions and decisions systems. Although the French-European context is largely determined by the Common Fisheries Policy, governance levers and an organised network of actors have been identified in demersal and benthic fisheries. In the present study, the observation of dialogue meetings identified the stakeholder strategies and interactions used to activate these levers, while the narrative of the process provided insight into methodological (relevance of the chosen method) and practical (efficiency of the governance) limitations, and outlooks.